Wire fabric machine



1936- c. c. WICKWIRE 2,051,587

WIRE FABRIC MACHINE Filed April 4, 1936 Gttornegs Patented Aug. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT aying mechanism dis- May 30, 1933. In the mech the wire strands carried by reels are dr intermittently, and are placed in crossed relation on a welding bar by traveling wire carrier elements. A constantly rotating welding roll is so welding contacts into enossed strands which are to These strands are held in g bar long enoughto roduce the desired Inasmuch as the h respect to each other ric, mechanism is prothe welding fingers d relation with the ding means, and the As the welding operations -up mechanism advances the step, so thatother ition on thewelding sequent welding operation.

arranged as to bring gagement with the cr be welded together.

contact with the weldin permit the electric current to p union between the strands.

joints are staggered wit longitudinally, of the fab vided for periodically shifting laterally of the fabric in time tion of the wire fee welding mechanism. are carried out, take fabric after each welding s are brought into pos bar, ready for the sub The present improvement relates s to the wire laying or placing mechanism for nds into crossed relation over ady for the welding operation.

bringingthe stra the welding bar re Whereas the mechanis patent forperforrning of a plurality of wire carri about a closed path, these elements were separate from one another and mechanism was reansfer them from one level to anthe finishing end of the lower travginning end of the upper traverse. sm the various carrier m disclosed in the above this operation consisted er elements movable 'quired to tr other, from use to thebe In. the improved 'mechani elements form a continuous chain, and are so related to the closed track in which they move as to do away with certain elements which were required in the formerstructure. One object of the invention is, therefor a simplified mechanism capable of more eration than devices of the prior'art, and at the same time to improve the quality of the fabric being made.

Other objects of the i the following specification,

conjunction with the accompanying drawing in nvention will appear from when it is read in WIRE FABRIC MACHINE Charles C.'Wickwire, Cortland, N. Y., assignor to Wickwire Brothers, Cortland, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 4, 1936, Serial No. 72,782 s Claims. (01. 140-112) This invention relates to machines for manufacturing welded wire fabrics of the type in which the strands pass diagonally with reference to the length of the fabric, so as to produce a diamond 5 mesh.

More particularly, this invention relates to an improvement in the wire 1 closed in the patent to Wickwire 1,911,541 issued anism of that patent Fig. 1 is a viewin elevation of one form of wire laying mechanism and actuating meansembodying this invention. v

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism. shown inFig.1. V Fig. 3 is a detail view of one of the wire carrier elements. J

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the-line IV-IV of Fig. 1, and shows the relation of the'carrier elements to thetrack in which they travel. 1

Fig. 5.is a sectional view showing how the improved mechanism is related to the other essential operating parts of one form of wire fabric machine.

In the drawing, the reference character 6 designates a bed portion Ofjthe frame of a wire fabric machine having a side frame 9. On'the bed 6 are secured a plurality of upright supporting brackets 1. Attached 'to andprojecting-upward from the attaching portionsof brackets], is a support 8 in the form of a closed ring. having a grooveor channel l'fl cut in onesideface'. The channel ll forms a continuoustrack in the member 8, and itis' in this track that the wire carrier'elements travel round androun'd as they laythe wire strands in'position tobe welded.

laterally of the blocks and moving in the track H. The carrier blocks l2 contain openings I4 to receive the wire strands l5, and serve to carry the strands back and forth across the bed'of the machine as the fabric is laid. Eachilof the carrier blocks contains in its flat face, remote from the location'of the openings l4, a'notch l6 wherebythe carrier elements are actuated. The complete chain is'held in its track by a cover or faceplate I'l contacting with the lateral faces of the blocks I2, and held in spaced relation to 40 the member 8 by screws l8 and spacer blocks [9.

The mechanism described comprlsesa' continuous closed track in which the chain made-up of carrier blocks l2 and links l3, moves-intermittently to carry the strands l5 back and forth across the bed of the machine. Actuation of the chain is accomplished by means of two long levers 2|. and 23 having actuatingdogs, designated 22 and 24, respectively. These actuating dogs are contoured to fit in the notches l6 of carrier blocks l2. Consequentlyyas the 'dog '22 moves to the right in Figure l, the dog 24 rnoves to the left, causing the blocks to be moved along their track. Lever'2'l is pivotally connected to an arm Z'I'at 28,' and lever 23 is pivotallyconnected to a similar arm 25 at 26. The arms 25 and 27 are attached to a collar 29 keyed to an oscillating shaft 3|. The arms 2| and 23 are biased toward the carrier elements |2 by springs 32 and 34 secured to face plate I! at 33 and 35, respectively.

Consequently, if the shaft 3| is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. .1, the dogs 22 and 24 engage notches in carrier blocks 2 and cause the chain to travel in a clockwise direction. When the shaft 3| rotates in a counterclockwise direction, the dogs 22 and 24 ride over the carrier blocks I2 and the links l3. andas the dogs return to their starting positions, .the .chain is held against travel by locking dogs 36 pivoted on the member 8 and biased into contact with the chain by springs 37.

It will be apparent that as the shaft 3| oscil lates, the chain is subjected to intermittent movement in properly timed relation with the other parts of the machine to place the wire strands in position to be welded.

One form of mechanism for imparting .oscillating movement to the shaft 3| is shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing. In this figure, the side frame 9 carries in spaced relation, two :upright bearing members 62 and 63, the upper portions of which are constructed to provide journals for the shaft 31. The forward end -.of the shaft 3| carries the collar 29 to which are .attached the driving arms 2| and 23, previously described. The rear end of the shaft 3|, however, is held against forward movement by a collar 64.

Secured to the shaft 3|, slightly forward of the member 63,-is a collar 56 carrying a radially projecting pin 51. This pin works in a slot 58 of a rock lever 46 pivoted at 45 on a support 59 bolted to the side frame 9. The rock lever 46 biased to the position shown in Fig. 5 by a spring 41 attached to .its longer end remote from the pivot 45. In the position .of the'parts, shown in Fig. 5, the driving arms 2| and 23 are biased to one extreme position of travel, substantially that shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

Actuation of the rock lever 46 .for the purpose of oscillating the shaft 3|, is brought about by a cam 54 rotatable with the weldingroll 48. The shorter end of rock lever 46 carries a roller 55 which cooperates with cam 54 to actuate the shaft 3| in timed relation to the operation of welding roll .48.

The relation of the present mechanism to the remainder of the machine will be understood by reference to Figure 5, wherein the wire strands l5 from reels 65 are shown as they lead to the carrier blocks l2, and over the welding bar 38. In this figure, reference character 39 designates the take-up rolls for the finished fabric 4|. 42 is a feeding member cooperating with the take-up rolls to Withdraw the fabric from the welding bar as each welding operation is completed. Lateral movement of the upper welding bar 43 carrying the pivoted welding contacts 44 is brought about at properly timed intervals, and by mechanism which is not essential to the present invention and will not, therefore, be described.

The welding circuit is controlled by the continuously rotating welding roll 48, having a series of insulated contacts 49 mounted on its periphcry and supplied with current from one side of a direct current line through brush 5| and a slip ring 52. The two line connections to brush 5| and to welding bar 38 are designated 66 and 61, respectively. The contacts 49 during rotation of the roll strike spring fingers 53 at properly timed in=- When the welding roll 48 is continuously driven by any suitable mechanism, not shown in the I drawing, the welding fingers 44 are displaced laterally in properly timed relation to the operation of roll 48, while the take-up rolls 39 and the feeding mechanism operate to advance the finished fabric through the machine. Rotation of the 1 01148 causes the chain of carrier blocks to traverse the track in response to the operation of rock lever 46. Each time that roller 55 is lifted by cam 54, the rock lever is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction about the pivot 45, so asto stretch the spring 47 and thereby lift the actuating pin 5.! and rock the shaft 3|. When the roll 48 makes a complete rotation from the position shown in Fig. .5, so that the roller 55 again drops into the low point of cam 54, the shaft 3| is rocked in the opposite direction by spring 4?. This rocking of shaft 3| actuates the driving arms 2| and 23, previously described, causing the carrier blocks |2 of Fig. 1 to move in a clockwise direction and to bring the wire strands 5 in crossed relation to the welding bar. 38. This operation is timed to the operation of the welding contacts 49 on welding roll -.48. When each weld is completed, and the contacts 49 move away over their completed joints, the springs 65 underneath the welding fingers 44 cause these fingers to move away from the crossed wires, as the wire feeding mechanism 42 advances the fabric to the left in Fig. '5, and the slack is taken up by the take-up rolls 39.

During the forward movement of the fabric, the rock lever 46 is actuated again to oscillate the shaft 3| and to bringthe wires to another crossed position on the welding bar 38.

It will therefore appear that so long as the welding roll '48 :is actuated, the wire carrying elements will be periodically advanced to cross the wire strands l5. Since all of the elements 12 are joined positively by links l3, the strands are always maintained in properly spaced relation, and the fabric produced is of uniform character and arrangement. Whereas in prior art devices the wire carrying elements have usually been separate and independent units, the combining of these units to form a continuous chain results in a much improved structure which is not only more accurate and stronger, but simplified and of longer life.

Although the 'wire carrying mechanism herein shown and described has been disclosed in connection with the wire fabric machine shown in Patent No; 1,911,541, it isobvious that it is not intended to limit the use of this structure to' the particular machine illustrated, but rather to give it an interpretation sufficient to cover all similar uses to which it may be put and embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wire fabric machine of the type in which wire strands are fed intermittently over a welding bar to produce diagonal mesh fabric, a wire carrier mechanism comprising an endless track disposed transversely of the path of travel of the strands; an endless connected series of wire carrier elements movable in said track; and mechanism for imparting intermittent actuation to said elements to cause them to traverse said track.

2. In a machine for making welded wire fabric, a machine bed; welding mechanism on said bed; means for feeding wire strands longitudinally of said bed and through the welding mechanism; and a continuous chain of wire carrier elements movable in a closed path transversely of said bed to lay the strands in crossed relation on said welding bar.

3. A strand laying mechanism for wire fabric machines comprising an endless closed track disposed in a substantially vertical plane; a continuous series of wire carrier elements forming a closed chain fitting into said track; and means for imparting intermittent movement to said chain.

4. A strand laying mechanism for wire fabric machines comprising an endless closed track disposed in a substantially vertical plane; a continuous series of wire carrier elements forming a closed chain fitting into said track; an oscillating shaft; a pair of reciprocating driving dogs actuated by said shaft to actuate said chain; andmeans for oscillating said shaft to impart intermittent movement to said chain.

5. In a machine for making welded wire fabric, a machine bed; welding mechanism on said bed; means for feeding wire strands longitudinally of said bed and through the welding mechanism; an endless track element disposed transversely of said bed and lying in substantially a vertical plane; a series of wire carrier elements connected together to form an endless chain movable on said track; and means for imparting intermittent movement to said chain. 5

6. In a machine for making welded wire fabric,

a machine bed; welding mechanism onsaid bed; means for feeding wire strands longitudinally of said bed and through the welding mechanism; an endless track disposed in substantially a vertical plane on said bed, said bed comprising two parallel spaced horizontal runs connected together at their ends by shorter runs; a continuous series of wire carrier elements forming a closed chain movable along said track to carry wire strands across said bed and place strands from said upper run across the corresponding strands of the lower run; and means for imparting intermittent movement to said chain.

7. In a machine for making diagonal mesh wire fabric, a wire laying mechanism made up of an endless chain of wire carrier elements movable about a closed path to place the wire strands in diagonal crossed relation.

8. In a diagonal mesh wire fabric machine, a strand laying mechanism made up of an endless chain of wire carrier elements movable intermittently about a closed path to place the wire strands in intersecting relation; and means for welding the intersecting strands together as they 7 pass a given point beyond the wire strand laying mechanism.

CHARLES C. WICKWIRE. 

